Former Holden police chief to lead security at MCPHS

Friday

Apr 25, 2014 at 11:20 PM

By Sandy Meindersma CORRESPONDENT

WORCESTER — Even before he retired as chief of the Holden Police Department, George Sherrill had no plans to go fishing. Instead, Mr. Sherrill is heading up the public safety office for the Worcester campus of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Mr. Sherrill, who retired in February from the town of Holden, was named assistant director of public safety effective March 1. He reports to Jack Kelly, who directs public safety for both the Boston campus of MCPHS and Emmanuel College.

"We have a private security company and a small staff," Mr. Sherrill said. "We're about 15 in number now, and my job is to determine what we need as we grow. There is no room to expand in Boston, but in Worcester there is still plenty of room to grow.

"I am so excited to be a part of such a vibrant community."

With a dozen buildings and nearly 2000 graduate students in the city, the Worcester campus of MCPHS is both different from and similar to his former responsibilities in Holden.

"A lot of what we do is very similar to what I was doing over at the (Wachusett Regional) high school," he said. "But it is compounded with the residential life."

Mr. Sherrill said his primary responsibility is the safety of the students, and that he meets daily with the dean of students to discuss any issues that arise. There are four dormitories on campus that house approximately 400 students.

"We talk about students who may have been the victim of a crime," he said. "Right now we are nearing finals, so everyone is stressed, and we want to be sure that everyone is taken care of."

Recently, one student's car was vandalized while parked on Main Street, and after she reported it, Mr. Sherrill asked the maintenance staff to help buff out the scratches and arranged for her to use on-campus parking.

That incident aside, Mr. Sherrill said he is finding the campus to be relatively quiet and very safe.

"We are in a good position here, across the street from the (Worcester) police station," he said. "And because everyone is a graduate student, we don't have to deal with keg parties."

As part of his responsibilities, Mr. Sherrill meets monthly with the police chiefs of the other Worcester college campuses to share ideas and concerns.

"A lot of us have transitioned from law enforcement to campus policing," Mr. Sherrill said. "I recently met with Cheryl Martuna of WPI and David Bousquet of Becker — our campuses are practically merging into one another."

Mr. Sherrill said one of his first orders of business is to develop a campuswide security plan, complete with an emergency management plan.

"Active shooter is one big issue, but I like to think about all hazardous situations," he said. "There are train tracks a block away from us, and there will be weather issues."

Other issues Mr. Sherrill has to be sure are properly addressed are related to the College of Pharmacy, which has special concerns because of the laboratories on campus.

"And we are getting ready for graduation on May 10, which will involve students from the Boston, Worcester and Manchester campuses," he said. "It's going to be held at Gillette Stadium, and we are expecting 13,000 people for it. So we have to plan the security for the event."